Time to Relax
by AramauFierySecretary
Summary: Shiloh is missing, sending Rose into a tailspin. Where is he?


The panic when Rose realized Shiloh was not beside her when she woke up was a feeling more intense than she'd ever felt in her life. She leaped out of her bed and bolted through the hallways of the mystical manor, oblivious to the eyes of the attendants following her frantic flight. She didn't care how loud she was being as she thundered through the halls in the dead of night as long as she could find her dearest friend, but she had searched the entire first floor and had no luck.

Rose scrambled deftly up the stairs, but there was nothing there except an attic full of what appeared to be discarded… memories, for lack of a better word. But there was no Shiloh, so Rose did not investigate further. She wracked her brain; she had checked everywhere!

Except…

Sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her, she sped to the bathing chambers and slammed the door open. The sight that greeted her baffled her beyond belief.

"Hi there, Rose!" Ivan called. He was dressed in full-body swimming gear and chin-deep in a gigantic porcelain circular bathtub next to a happily splashing Shiloh. "Come on in! The water's amazing!" The little gnome began paddling around the tub – which to him would qualify as a small swimming hole – and Shiloh followed him, barking happily. Rose's mouth flopped open, absolutely stunned.

"What is going on?" she asked, not sure where to put her emotions. Anger? Surprise? Confusion? A quick laugh thrown in for flavor? Shiloh leaped out of the tub and bounded over to Rose, flinging water everywhere and nearly flooding the floor. He leaped at her in a doggy-hug and got her soaking wet in the process, but he didn't seem to care as he licked her face.

"I was having trouble sleeping," Ivan explained, splashing over to the edge of the tub closest to where Rose and Shiloh were, "and then I heard a sort of snuffling at the door. I thought it was Amber in her dragon form or something, but it turned out to be Shiloh. He pulled me to the bath chambers and leaped into the tub, kind of asking me 'Can you please turn on the water?' and I couldn't say no, so I did. And it got full really fast and it was nice and warm so I went to my room and there was a swimming suit on my bed so I came in and joined him, and we've been swimming!"

"Swimming." Rose was just… she didn't even know where to put her emotions as her dog attacked her with affection. It seemed as though the water had rejuvenating properties because Shiloh was acting more like a puppy than he had in a long time, and Rose didn't mind that. Ivan dunked his head in the water and his feet took its place as he hand-walked across the tub. His sopping wet face appeared at the other end, his white-blonde hair nearly see-through with the moisture. Shiloh shook himself, splashing water all over, and bounded back to the tub, though he got in more carefully than he got out.

"Come on, Rose, join us! The water's wonderful! And it's relaxing!" Ivan pleaded with a huge smile. Both he and Shiloh leaned their chins on the edge of the tub and begged her with their eyes, and Rose rolled hers in response.

"My clothes are already wet, I may as well finish the job," she grumbled, trudging out of the fully stone room to hers. She discovered a simple bathing suit on her bed, just as Ivan had, and changed into it, leaving her clothes to dry on the chair in her room.

She returned to the room to find that it seemed larger somehow. The tub was definitely larger, and Shiloh and Ivan were enjoying playing in it immensely. Rose sighed, and walked over to join them, though she was prepared to die before she splashed like a child. She dipped her hand in; the water was blissfully warm, not sweltering like the musty murk of Minauros outside, and it took all of her might not to just sink into the tub headfirst and relax. Carefully, she placed her feet in the water and slid down the side of the tub.

Ivan seemed to sense that she didn't feel like splashing around, so he sat down across from her. Shiloh did the same next to his person, panting and swishing the water around with his wagging tail. He gave Rose a big lick on her face and then laid down in the water, floating his head on top. Rose closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the rim of the tub; she could not remember when she felt this relaxed.

Ivan began to hum, and he succeeded in getting her to melt even further down into the water; he had selected a melody that reminded her of birds singing in Salania and though it made her miss the mortal planes, she felt comfortable in the water.

The gnome's little voice interrupted both her pensive relaxation and his humming when he asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

She raised her head and opened her eyes, frowning at him as she answered, "I wasn't sick or anything, Ivan. I'm fine."

"No, you weren't sick, but you were upset. Everyone has been," Ivan reflected, kicking his feet a little in the water. The waves made Shiloh's head bob up and down, and Rose could swear that Shiloh smiled. Ivan continued, "Dis… was hard on everyone. I'll even admit that I wasn't happy about seeing Simula again, but… everyone else has an outlet to relax with. Or else they're Oin and not disturbed one way or another. I wanted to help you find yours."

Rose got a little miffed at him; it wasn't his business if she was stressed or upset, and she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She opened her mouth to retort but stopped when Shiloh gave out a little whine. She hesitated; this was a pack. And more often than not, there was a caretaker in the pack who took care of the weak, ill, and old. Ivan just wanted to help her become strong and whole again, and she closed her mouth, swallowing the rebuke that had been about to fly from her mouth.

"You worry too much, Ivan. I'll be all right. I'm hoping we all will," she assured him, and Ivan smiled.

"I know you'll be all right. But everyone needs a break sometimes, right? Bears hibernate, trees lose their leaves, flowers close, and you relax in a bath with Shiloh. All of nature has ways to cope," he reasoned.

"They do it to survive, Ivan," Rose frowned.

"Don't you think taking care of yourself is important to survival too?" he asked, and Rose didn't have a counter for him. Partially because she could see his point and partially because his smile was blindingly bright so she closed her eyes and rested her head against the porcelain again.

Back in her room, after having dried both Shiloh and herself off thoroughly, the two curled up to sleep. She found her body less tense than normal and she pulled Shiloh closer to her. The dog laid his head on her stomach and drifted off to sleep.

Rose shook her head and let out a little smile. She had been a weak link in the pack, and the caretaker had helped her get stronger.


End file.
